Holly Warner
Thesis title: Multimodal analysis of the construction of sexual violence narratives on YouTube
In a post-MeToo era, there is a growing body of publicly shared narratives of sexual violence experiences, which can raise awareness of sexual violence and other gender-based violence, as well as serve a personally cathartic purpose for the victim who created and shared those videos. However, due to the public nature of the videos, they are open to public scrutiny and feedback; such feedback and public perception have significant consequences for victims in both social encounters and during law enforcement processes. My research examines how victims of sexual violence construct narratives of their experiences on YouTube. Through a multimodal and feminist critical discourse lens, I look to explore how victims construct narratives of their personal experiences of sexual violence in terms of the narrative structure, the perpetuation of rejection of relevant ideologies, the presence of in-groups and out-groups, the use of artefacts or bodily gestures, and the interaction with the public audience. Understanding the reality of sexual violence narratives can be used to tackle unhelpful expectations by informing policies on police handling of sexual violence and developing school curricula to ensure better outcomes for victims.
Biography
I completed my master’s degree in Linguistics at Queen Mary University of London, writing my master’s dissertation on the perpetuation of perfect victim ideologies in sexual violence narratives. I subsequently worked as a research assistant at Queen Mary University of London on a project examining how victims of sexual violence navigate physical space in counselling and therapeutic settings. I am now pursuing this passion for sexual violence research with my PhD.
Public Engagement
Warner, H. (2023, June 29). ‘ The stereotypical way that “rape happens” ’: Upholding perfect victim ideologies in victims’ sexual violence narratives [Conference presentation]. WICAL 25 2023, University of Warwick, UK
Applied Linguistics
University of Warwick
2023 Cohort, 3.5
www.linkedin.com/in/holly-warner
Supervisory Team
Prof Jo Angouri
Dr Altman Peng